Apparently my Cranfield Mil Studies MA means that I gain a number of credits. This means I start with B713 Fundamentals of Senior Management, must complete B820 Strategy (doesn't ACSC count for any of this?), B830 Making a Difference and then only one Option.

Anyone got any advise on the course in general and the amount of Credit Transfer they received for DTC and ACSC? I would be particularly interested in advice on which Option to elect.

If it's any help, I completed the OU MBA in 96 having been one of the first batch of 13 to be selected for it in 94.

Since then course titles have changed but I cashed in the Army Staff Course for one full credit and then did the foundation course for one credit and two half credit electives.

Of these the most rewarding was Creative Management: a healthy dose of tree hugging mixed with some very useful stuff on personality profiling and so on which I tried out live with the Camberley syndicate I was teaching that year and then ran on into a project cross matching Camberley students going to key staff posts with commanders who, by virtue of their personality type, would produce the most effective team.

As I say, much will have changed but if there is a Creative Management option still aval, I would recommend it. In the meantime, I found the course as a whole hugely enjoyable, very useful in every subsequent job I have done and now, as I begin to look seriuosly at life beyond the Army, a virtual guarantee that my CV will at the very least be read by any prospective future employer.

I completed my OU MBA in May 05. Can't advise on the transfer of credit question as being non psc I had nothing to transfer. As regards options, I think it depends on why you are doing the course and what you want to use the qual for. I wanted to gain an industry recognised qualification and develop commercial understanding - accordingly, I went for topics I had no real experience of on the premise of learning something genuinely new. I did :

- Marketing - excellent and a highly relevant extension of B820 Strategy; also managed to apply a lot of this in my mil workplace.

- Creativity, Innovation & Change - less intensive (but no walkover!), very enjoyable and, for me, probably the best part of the course in terms of picking up tangible skills. After overcoming the odd strange look, I managed to use many of the techniques learned to great effect in enhancing creativity within mil planning processes - was quite a laugh too !

Finally, check that your options include a residential course. There has been a trend within the OU in recent years of scrapping these - I think to manage costs. For my money, and every other student I spoke to, this greatly reduces the learning experience. Residential school is where it all comes together and you get to speak to like minds who are similarly struggling - plus getting greater exposure to the civvies, many of whom have a lot to offer. Not suggesting you should dismiss an option just because it has no residential school, but do make sure you understand if your option includes one and recognise that it will be harder work (and for me less rewarding) without it.

There is the possibility of getting credit for ACSC that might be worth investigating. If you recently did ACSC then you will have almost the same syllabus as the ISCS 2 which I attended. What a joyâ¦but I digress. ICSC was reviewed by the Chartered Management Institute and mapped across to their level 7 diploma in management. The only addition was 2 small pieces of work which take about 2 hours each (Marketing and Finance). Once marked this work, plus the ICSC credits, gets you the level 7 diploma. The diploma gets you specific credit with the OU and exempts you from B713. The two pieces of work are infinitely less hassle than B713 but you will be playing catch up to a certain extent on B820.

I have done it so know it works. In short with a Masters already and ICSC I have to do B820\B830 and one 30 point course.

As for B820 Strategy (Iâm on it now) and ACSC about the only similarity is a STEP analysis or two, I wish I could dust off some old campaign plans but no chance!

I know this is dragging up a long-sleeping corpse of a thread but I'm just wondering how others are getting on with the MMP MBA. I'm doing B713 at the moment (TMA06 is due in tomorrow night.....aaargh!) and finding it slightly dull but still feel I'm progressing steadily through that dark. Looking at my OU notes I'm sure I only have to do B820 Strategy and B830 Making a Difference until I get my MBA. If I can crack it before my 22 yr point I'll be happy.

I've got a residential course next week somewhere up near High Wycombe, but haven't a clue what to expect. I bet it won't have nightly sessions of freckles and other "top shelf" antics though. You can't beat mess life! On the plus side I could probably turn up in mong / student mode and still fight through, but we'll see. I could arrange a smoker on the last night, naked bar etc etc. Or I could just be professional and crack on!

See you there. I couldn't gather the motivation to submit TMA06 myself as I have scraped enough points on the others to pass the coursework phase. Read the Residential Course handbook and ice cream case study and bring some beer vouchers and clean underwear!

It is actually a good weekend. Location is pretty good, work is not overly demanding and there are some good pubs nearby. It was probably the highlight of 713 for me when I did it last year. Piece of pis* for a soldier and you are bound to find that you end up doing most of the presenting over the weekend as most of the civs seem terrified of standing up and speaking.
whf

Yeah, ours was really pretty good. It definitely pulled a lot of the concepts into something resembling the bigger picture. I met up with PP and we had a wee drinkie. The place was full to bursting with DE officers on the MMP. The civvies were completely amazed and bemused. Great food too!